Product Description

St. Mary’s Church is located in the town of Fairford in Gloucestershire, England. Dating to the 1490s, the church is historically significant for its complete set of intact medieval stained glass. The stained glass is attributed to Flemish glazier, Barnard Flower. The triangle iconography depicts two angel musicians, one playing a duct flute and the other a trapezoidal-shaped, closed triangle with jingling rings.

The St. Mary’s triangle is inspired by the stained glass. It is made from brass and has been hand-hammered, hand-shaped, and brazed into a closed shape. A high-polish finish has been chosen to help capture the angelic nature of the subject through which light is passing. The instrument is 8 ½”h x 11 ½”w x ½” d.

Each triangle comes with:

a FREE “floating wall-mount” print of the iconographic subject that has been printed onto a 12” x 12” or 11” x 9” piece of rigid aluminu

Iconography is the primary source for our knowledge of the history of the triangle, and provides insight into the musical and social context in which the instrument developed. The history of the triangle is a bit different from the history of other musical instruments. For example, looking at the history of the violin we know of master builders and craftsman. Antonio Stradivari has long been known for creating the finest violins ever made. The workmanship and sound of his instruments are unparalleled to this day. Conversely, the triangle has taken a different path through history. There is no known triangle craftsman with a similar reputation as Stradivari. There is no archetypal instrument from centuries past acknowledged as the world’s finest. There does not exist a quintessential “baroque triangle” or “renaissance triangle”. We do not have an exemplary “triangle of Mozart’s day”. Rather, what we DO have, is extraordinary, beautiful VARIETY—variety in size, shape, dimension, proportion, level of craftsmanship, and ornamentation, as seen in iconography. It is this variety that has inspired me to create these instruments.

I have chosen several pieces of triangle iconography that I found inspiring, and set about the process of bringing them to life. The instruments have been made by hand, one at a time, and have all been hand-hammered, hand-bent, and hand-finished. I have paid close attention to the size of the triangle as seen in the image, relative to what or who is around it.

My hope is that the uniqueness of the instruments’ look will inspire others as it has inspired me.